Who knew that the UK Chancellor was such an avid reader of the Jiva blog? A matter of days after publishing a blog post reiterating the importance of maths, Chancellor Philip Hammond stands up in the UK Parliament and tells the country, “maths matters”. Whats more, Mr Hammond has backed up his words with cash. Schools get an £600 for every pupil who sits A Level maths and teachers in certain areas will get an extra £1,000 towards professional development. Its all good stuff and naturally, the folks at Jiva will claim the credit for the government’s actions. Now all we need to see is a bit more action further down the school years, at primary level. If we’re going to have more people capable of passing maths A level, we need more encouragement in the early years. Its unlikely that a 16 yo who’s had little encouragement to enjoy Maths is suddenly going to be enthused when the school suggests it for A level. But thats a conversation for another day, lets be thankful for small mercies.